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Topic : 09/28 Overmedicating America: The Cruise Controversy

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Created on : Friday, September 23, 2005, 04:45:47 pm

Author : DrPhilBoard1

When Tom Cruise gave his opinion about the drugging of America, he created a firestorm of controversy. Are we an overmedicated nation? Dave and Jill feel as if their 7-year-old son is holding them hostage in their own home. He's on three medications, but his uncontrollable fits of rage are destroying their marriage. Is this a real medical issue or a parenting problem? Then, two women with powerful personal stories debate the "Cruise controversy." They both think their opinion is right, but what does Dr. Phil think? Plus, an outraged father confronts his ex-wife and demands that she stop medicating their 9-year-old son. Talk about the show here.

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MORE INFO ON "BIG PHARMA"

I've been personally following information concerning "Big Pharma" (international pharmaceutical conglomerates) hold on world health (or more succinctly, loss of health). Just a "heads up" that Mr. George Noory who hosts Coast to Coast radio show will be featuring Tim Bolens, a Health Activist/Advocate on Wednesday evening, Nov. 28. check your local radio listings and keep your pen and paper handy.&nbsp

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On the topic, I walk the fence. I am a proponent of complementary medicine and believe in using what is currently termed "alternative" practices to try to nip a particular dis-ease or unwellness before it becomes life-altering. I also believe that there are times when conventional medical practice as well as some drugs are called for. Let's not throw stones at each other. All I know is that we need a complete overhaul of our medical systems in the U.S. for the benefit of our future generations.... we're all probably too far damaged by what has been, but we can change it!&nbsp

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I invite you to Listen in on Wednesday evening to Coast to Coast.&nbsp

(PS: I am not affiliated in any way with the program, its sponsors or Mr. Bolen and hope its okay to mention this educational topic here.)&nbsp

Katheen

You have my deepest sympathies, Sweetheart. I know that you are doing the best you can to take care of your family. Your daughter is lucky to have a parent who is willing to notice and give a da$% whether she lives or dies. She is very blessed. &nbsp

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I can only offer this : THOSE WHO WERE SEEN DANCING WERE THOUGHT TO BE INSANE BY THOSE WHO COULD NOT HEAR THE MUSIC.&nbsp

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No one walks your walk. We all do the best we can with what we have. If ever you need a voice of support, you have it. &nbsp

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Kathleen&nbsp

Thank you very much. Also I absolutely LOVE the quote you offered. Is this something you came up with? If not do you know who said it?

09/28 Overmedicating America: The Cruise Controversy

The biggest problem with this topic is that everyone is looking for the 'quick fix' answer...&nbsp

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1) Yes : this nation is so big into having our problems solved without an excessive amount of effort that we over-medicate massively... especially children.&nbsp

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2) Yes : there should be grave concerns focused on the pharmecudical companies, given the importance of ethical behavior in the fields that they work in and the apparent lack of ethics and good sense they have shown.&nbsp

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3) YES : THERE ARE CONDITIONS THAT EXIST WHICH REQUIRE PHARMACEUDICAL INTERVENTION. &nbsp

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As far as I'm concerned, Tom Cruise made a complete idiot of himself by expressing ANY opinion regarding someone else's circumstances. What Brooke Shields needs to address problems that she faces is between Brooke and the medical professionals who advise her. &nbsp

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Regarding the mother of the 14-year old: you proceed as you think best. If following your doctor's advice has produced a better quality of life for your daughter and those around her, then you've done right by your daughter. These issues must be brought up so that we are aware of them and deal with them inteligently, but none of us should even think of passing judgement on the situation of any other person. &nbsp

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As for Psychiatry, it is the same as Medicine: there's a lot of 'art' involved. If approached with the right moral and ethical attitude, psychiatrists are valuable professionals who give us insight not only to people with serious mental conditions, but to the normal behaviors that we all engage in. The results of their efforts can be the most liberating advancement of the modern age, if we keep them in context.&nbsp

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There are people who need that kind of help. I'm not about to suggest that they avoid it.&nbsp

That was awesome!

It's unfortunate, because the real enemy in all of this is lack of education. And when whackjobs like Tom Cruise speak out (I saw him with Matt Lauer and he didn't even use the right medical terminology for antidepressants!) it just serves to further confuse a serious problem.

Just because there are too many parents out there who'd rather dump Ritalin into their kids than provide the discipline and stability the kid is screaming for doesn't mean that ADHD is not a legitimate disease.

But the hierarchy for fingerpointing doesn't just include the pharmaceutical companies -- it includes physicians, it includes parents, and it includes patients. This even extends to demands for antibiotics when one has a viral infection but wants to "take a pill" even though antibiotics are ineffective in that case.

My Medication thought

I've read many of these posts on this thread and I notice two things that stand out the most, which are the medication is necessary and that we are all being overmedicated. While I do think that we in this country are too quick to jump for a pill to "fix" us, I don't think we as a country are really being taught anything better. I find it disturbing to watch drug commercials on tv as I don't believe it is good to advertise to people that they "need" a certain drug and then speed through all the side effects. On the other hand it isn't just the pharmaceutical companies that are to blame for this problem. Doctors go to school for years to perform their practice. Only a doctor can really know you, based on your own personal case whether or not a medication is right for you. Not every doctor is reputable and not every patient wants to go to the lengths to try and remedy the problem through diet, exercise, and other ways to deal with it. I believe that doctors need to be held more accountable for the medications they dispense. It's a lot easier to give your patient a medication, rather than go the distance and try to get to the root of the problem. It's not right to only blame the doctors and the pharmaceutical companies when there are many people who want the instant fix. It's faster than figuring out what the real problem is and correcting it. On another note, my heart goes out to all of you who have bipolar individuals in your family. This is a real mental illness. I'll spare everyone the details of my tumultuous childhood living with the ups and downs of my mother and sister, which included being screamed at , hit, and once being chased with a knife. Unless you actually see how people with bipolar are, you don't really understand. Finally, they are on medication and I now am starting to have a relationship with them. I believe that doctors need to be held more accountable for the medications they dispense. It's a lot easier to give your patient a medication, rather than go the distance and try to get to the root of the problem.

09/28 Overmedicating America: The Cruise Controversy

Over the course of the last three decades much research into the origins of emotional distress and disturbances have led researchers to embrace “chemical imbalance” as the leading cause. Though the exact mechanisms linking chemical imbalances and common disorders like anxiety, depression and ADHD are not completely understood, clinical studies and medical observations have been able to identify a number of chemical inconsistencies that occur in individuals who report experiencing symptoms related to these disorders. &nbsp

Common chemical imbalances related to anxiety and depression related disorders that have been observed in clinical practice include:&nbsp

personally about overmedicating

i'm on some 20 medication(more than that if you count some several times a day). i have depression,obsessive/compulsive disorder and am supposedly bipolar. anyway, he put me on wellbuterin xl (450 mg), abilify (15mg),paxil(20mg) for all that.. but i am also on:cozaar,atenolol,lasix,norvasc,aspirin(for blood pressure problems++,premarin,lipitor,neurotin,ultram,macrodantin,mirilax,synthroid,calcium carbonate,chloretrometon,and a multivitamin and minerals. i feel awful most of the time. they say i need the stuff. i think if i came off the rest i wouldn't have depression,ocd,bipolar,etc &nbsp

i don't know about anyone else but I AM OVERMEDICATED. i wish dr phil could help me. meds are needed in most cases but overmedicating is a country wide problem. tom cruise makes me sick pontificating and spouting his mumbo jumbo. i can't stand him for cheating on nicole kidman when they were married. that sucks! &nbsp

For DK

I so relate to what you posted and I will tell you are not alone in the polly drugging.&nbsp

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I would find a caring, and I mean caring health care person who will listen to you and help you very slowly and safely get off those very poisons that turn on us in a short time and are more than likely exasperating you current condition. I found out the hard way that the very pills they give us to help will only increase the very symptoms we are given after a short while.&nbsp

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Our bodies are designed to heal and you will DK. Please find a safe place to get accurate info and get off those poisons safely. Been there and I now live to help others.&nbsp

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I wish I can post a very accurate web site where there is help beyond what any medical book can tell you. Do a search and I hope you find it eventually.&nbsp

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If someone does not believe pills can turn on you, read the book "I am dancing as fast as I can".&nbsp

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Also Peter Bregin has accurate info on drugs you will not even find in the side effects of most drug hand outs.&nbsp

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My best to all of you who suffer at the hands of the greedy. &nbsp

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We will have a voice some day and remember the very people who dish out these harmfull drugs will some day be in the same place they have put us in. &nbsp

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I have personally spoken to Doc's who also were harmed my misinformation they were told by the pharm co's little secrets.&nbsp

Just my take on the issue

I will say immediately that I didn't hear the quote so I don't know exactly what Tom Cruise said. I think that celebrities ought to be be careful about what they say because their opinions are often given more weight than their knowledge warrents.

I believe that medicines are too often used as a panacea for multifacited problems. This results in some people being medicated when other methods of treatment would work just as well (or better). Other people are given medications which are appropriate for their situation/ condition but are then not given the other tools, such as therapy, that are necessary to fully treat the condition. For others still the medication does exactly what it is supposed to do and is essential to function properly.

There are many stories of people who were given inappropriate medicine and suffered serious results. I think this is cause for concern, caution, and continued research. It reflects the fact that no two people are alike and that a no drug (or treatment of anysort) should be isolated as the only option for treating a condition.

Everything in life has pros and cons. Different people have different priorities and values which they must use to make their own cost-benifit analysis. Therefore, education is essential for all parties concerned so that facts, theories, and first hand experince can be examined and applied in a thoughtful manner in order to achieve the best possible results for specific situations and specific people. Hopefully, when people take it upon themselves to be informed and to seek multiple viewpoints medications will be used appropriately and in conjuncture with other appropriate treatments.

bipolar

I will be the bigger and better person here and say I agree to disagree with you.

I think Tom Cruise was wrong to even mention psychiatry while promoting a movie. I think I could say the same thing to you regarding your statement on theory's..

Talk to people who live with illnesses such as bipolar and schitzoprenia, try telling them they do not need to medicate to be able to function. If you have not lived with someone who has a mental illness it may be hard for you to grasp the fact that if medications, like everything else is taken in moderation and monitored they can be very useful.

Would you tell a diabetic not to give themselves an insulin shot? Probably not so why tell me not to medicate myself or my daughter?

Thank you for letting me see your opinion, that is what each of us are entitled to, it doesn't make you or I wrong.

Tammy

I was diagnosed bipolar after flipping out on prozac and ativan...this sent me into a 21 year drugged nightmare taking drugs, getting addicted to benzo's, 14 hospitalizations, ECT treatments. I was robbed of my entire life, I have osteopenia that both depakote and ativan cause in women under 35 years who have taken these drugs longer than 7 years. I am continuing to suffer physical symptoms after taking a year to withdraw from the drugs, but my mental health is great. No more rages, mood swings, depression, psychosis. If I can find out that I do not have a chemical imbalance as they told me for years, do not the people who have been brain washed by the drug companies and psychiatrists deserve the chance at finding out this for themselves by people such as Tom Cruise and others who are speaking the truth?

You want to end up like me who was clearly mis-diagnosed? And losing everything? These drugs are toxic and out right dangerous.